Estes Park Museum: The first 50 years of service

Courtesy of the Estes Park Museum

Posted:
08/08/2017 07:11:27 AM MDT

The first Museum was constructed out of cinder blocks with the help of volunteer labor. (Courtesy of the Estes Park Museum)

The Estes Park Museum was founded in 1962 when the National Park Service removed Stead's Ranch, an 1876 homestead and guest ranch located in Rocky Mountain National Park. Concerned Estes Park citizens organized a group and collected artifacts from the ranch before its demolition to form the Estes Park Area Historical Museum Inc., a non-profit corporation established to preserve and interpret the pioneer history of Estes Park and its outlying communities.

The Town of Estes Park donated a section of public land at 200 Fourth Street and a building was constructed with volunteer labor in 1966. It was nicknamed "the morgue" for it was a windowless, cinder block structure. Expansions to the building occurred in 1969, 1979, 1981 and 2004 and brought the Museum to its current size to include an on-site collections room, research office, staff offices, a foyer, gift shop and meeting room, along with 2,280 square feet of exhibit space.

In 1985 the 1909 Cobb-Macdonald cabin, originally located just behind the Macdonald Book Shop downtown, was acquired and moved to the Museum. In 1987, the original headquarters for Rocky Mountain National Park was also relocated to Museum grounds and now hosts temporary exhibits. (Courtesy of the Estes Park Museum)

In 1992 the Museum became a department of the Town of Estes Park. The non-profit organization is now the Estes Park Museum Friends & Foundation, Inc. The Museum has more than 25,000 historic objects in it collection and annually offers dozens of programs/tours, hosts temporary exhibits (as well as permanent installation) and serves more than 20,000 visitors. The Museum's Mission is to "collect, interpret and preserve local history, as well as present exhibits, programs and events for the education and benefit of residents and visitors of all ages.

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